Radiation treatment planning based on dose rate

Abstract

A dose rate-volume histogram is generated for a target volume. The dose rate-volume histogram can be stored in computer system memory and used to generate a radiation treatment plan. An irradiation time-volume histogram can also be generated for the target volume. The irradiation time-volume histogram can be stored in computer system memory and used to generate the radiation treatment plan.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A computer system, comprising:
 a processor; and 
 memory coupled to the processor and comprising instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to perform a method of radiation treatment planning, the method comprising:
 accessing information in the memory, the information comprising an irradiation time received by a target volume; 
 generating an irradiation time-volume histogram for the target volume, wherein the irradiation time-volume histogram indicates a percentage of the target volume that is irradiated for a length of time; 
 storing the irradiation time-volume histogram in the memory; and 
 using the irradiation time-volume histogram to generate a radiation treatment plan for treating the target volume. 
 
 
     
     
       2. The computer system of  claim 1 , wherein the target volume comprises a plurality of sub-volumes, wherein an irradiation time is determined for each sub-volume of the plurality of sub-volumes, and wherein the irradiation time for said each sub-volume is used to generate the irradiation time-volume histogram. 
     
     
       3. The computer system of  claim 1 , wherein the irradiation time is determined using parameters comprising a number of irradiations of the target volume, a duration of each of the irradiations, and a dose deposited in each of the irradiations. 
     
     
       4. The computer system of  claim 3 , wherein the parameters further comprise: directions of beams to be directed into the target volume, and beam energies for each of the beams. 
     
     
       5. The computer system of  claim 4 , wherein the beams comprise a type of beam selected from the group consisting of: proton; electron; photon; atom nuclei; and ion. 
     
     
       6. The computer system of  claim 3 , wherein the parameters further comprise: a period of time during which the irradiations are applied, and an interval of time between each period of irradiations. 
     
     
       7. The computer system of  claim 3 , wherein the method further comprises adjusting the values of the parameters until objectives associated with the radiation treatment plan are satisfied. 
     
     
       8. The computer system of  claim 3 , wherein the target volume comprises a plurality of sub-volumes, wherein the parameters comprise a number of irradiations for each of the sub-volumes, a duration of each of the irradiations for each of the sub-volumes, and a dose deposited in each of the irradiations for each of the sub-volumes, and wherein an irradiation time is determined for each of the sub-volumes based on the parameters. 
     
     
       9. The computer system of  claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises determining isolines of dose rates relative to the target volume based on the irradiation time-volume histogram. 
     
     
       10. The computer system of  claim 1 , wherein the target volume comprises tumor tissue and healthy tissue adjacent to the tumor tissue, and wherein the irradiation time-volume histogram indicates a percentage of the tumor tissue that is irradiated for a length of time and a percentage of the healthy tissue that is irradiated for a length of time. 
     
     
       11. The computer system of  claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises:
 generating a dose-rate volume histogram for the target volume, wherein the dose-rate volume histogram indicates a percentage of the target volume that receives the dose rate; 
 storing the dose-rate volume histogram in the memory; and 
 using the dose-rate volume histogram to generate the radiation treatment plan. 
 
     
     
       12. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable instructions for causing a computer system to perform a method of generating a radiation treatment plan, the method comprising:
 accessing information that identifies a target volume comprising a representation of tumor tissue and of healthy tissue proximate to the tumor tissue; 
 accessing parameters comprising a number of irradiations of the target volume, a duration of each of the irradiations, and a dose deposited in each of the irradiations; 
 generating an irradiation time-volume histogram for the target volume using an irradiation time determined using the parameters, wherein the irradiation time-volume histogram indicates a percentage of the target volume that is irradiated for a length of time; and 
 storing the irradiation time-volume histogram in the memory for use in generating the radiation treatment plan. 
 
     
     
       13. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 12 , wherein the target volume comprises a plurality of sub-volumes, wherein the parameters comprise a number of irradiations for each of the sub-volumes, a duration of each of the irradiations for each of the sub-volumes, and a dose deposited in each of the irradiations for each of the sub-volumes, and wherein an irradiation time is determined for each of the sub-volumes based on the parameters, wherein the irradiation time for each of the sub-volumes is used to generate the irradiation time-volume histogram. 
     
     
       14. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 12 , wherein the parameters further comprise: directions of beams to be directed into the target volume, and beam energies for each of the beams. 
     
     
       15. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 12 , wherein the parameters further comprise: a period of time during which the irradiations are applied, and an interval of time between each period of irradiations. 
     
     
       16. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable instructions for causing a computer system to perform a method of generating a radiation treatment plan, the method comprising:
 accessing an irradiation time-volume histogram for a target volume, wherein the irradiation time-volume histogram indicates irradiation times and percentages of the target volume that are irradiated for a respective length of time, and wherein the irradiation time-volume histogram is determined using values for parameters that affect irradiation time; and 
 including the values for the parameters in the radiation treatment plan when, based on the irradiation time-volume histogram, a percentage of the target volume that is irradiated for a length of time that is below an irradiation time threshold value is above a percentage threshold value. 
 
     
     
       17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 16 , wherein the parameters comprise: a number of irradiations of the target volume, a duration of each of the irradiations, and a dose deposited in each of the irradiations. 
     
     
       18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 17 , wherein the parameters further comprise: directions of beams to be directed into the target volume, and beam energies for each of the beams. 
     
     
       19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 17 , wherein the parameters further comprise: a period of time during which the irradiations are applied, and an interval of time between each period of irradiations. 
     
     
       20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 16 , wherein the target volume comprises a plurality of sub-volumes, wherein the parameters comprise a number of irradiations for each of the sub-volumes, a duration of each of the irradiations for each of the sub-volumes, and a dose deposited in each of the irradiations for each of the sub-volumes, and wherein an irradiation time is determined for each of the sub-volumes based on the parameters, wherein the irradiation time for each of the sub-volumes is used to generate the irradiation time-volume histogram. 
     
     
       21. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 16 , wherein the method further comprises adjusting the values of the parameters until the percentage of the target volume that is irradiated for a length of time that is below the irradiation time threshold value is above the percentage threshold value.